His afternoon is devoted to preparing the more elaborate dinner due at 7.30 P.M., when he will be ready to serve soup, fish, entrées, a roast, a curry, and sweets, all conscientiously prepared, and sent in hot. Most excellent curries are made in Manila, both by Chinamen and natives. To my mind, the best are made from prawns, from crab, or from frogs' legs. If you cannot eat anything else at dinner, you can always make out with the curry. The dinner over, the cook asks for orders, and takes his departure, to return with perfect punctuality the following day. The Chinese cooks all belong to a guild, which is a trades' union and a co-operative society, and are bound to follow the rules. They would never dream of going into a market and bidding one against the other. Their system is to assemble early every morning at the guild house, and for each man to state his requirements. A scribe then tabulates the orders--so many turkeys, so many chickens, etc., and two experienced cooks are commissioned as buyers to go into the market and purchase the whole lot, the provisions being afterwards fairly divided amongst the members, each having his turn to get the choice pieces, such as saddle of mutton, kidneys, etc. But if a dinner-party is contemplated, the cook who has to prepare it gets the preference. They thus obtain everything much cheaper than the native cooks, even after taking a good squeeze for themselves. I believe that they have a fixed percentage which they charge, and would consider it dishonest to take any more, whilst the guild would not approve of their taking any less. If you send away your cook, the guild will settle for you who is to replace him. All your culinary fancies will be well known to the council of the guild, and they will pick out a man up to your standard. It was customary to give the cook a fixed sum per day to provide tiffin and dinner, and this was paid once a week. I found that two dollars a day was sufficient to amply provide for my family, and I could have one guest to tiffin or dinner without notice, and be confident that the meal would be sufficient. In fact, this was part of my agreement with the cook. By giving short notice, the dinner could be extended for two or three people at an additional charge. The cook rendered no account of the money he received; but, if I was not satisfied with the meals he provided, I admonished him, and if he did not do better I discharged him. I may say, however, that there was very seldom cause for complaint, for the Chinese are thorough business men. When a dinner-party was given, the cook provided according to order, and sent in his bill for the extras. There was no housekeeping, and no need to order anything, and you knew exactly how much you were spending weekly, and how much a dinner-party cost.